What does reversible mean?

Reversible is a term used for certain reactions that never reach a final stage. So imagine we have A and B reacting together to form C, and we say that this reaction is reversible. So at a point in time, in the container where we mixed the two reactants in order to create C, we have all three componenents - that is A, B and C. How much of each component we have at that time depends on the kind of reversible reaction. If a reaction is irreversible and goes to completion then at that point when the reaction is complete we would only have C in the container. However, for reversible reactions, C can go back to being A and B on its own and that is why the reaction is reversible and in the container all three components can be found at a time point.

AT

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

GCSE Chemistry- Describe the structure of an atom?


Describe the three main types of bonding?


Explain how the structure of metals allow them to form metallic bonds.


Why are the properties of diamond and graphite different despite both being made of the same constituent element, carbon.